Concerns about election workers' safety and privacy have been reported in surveys, news articles, and congressional hearings from the 2020 elections through the current election cycle. Those concerns, along with a perceived increase in politically motivated job scrutiny, have led some to leave or consider leaving their positions. This Insight provides a brief overview of recent federal activity on election worker safety and privacy.
Federal law prohibits certain types of intimidation of or interference with election workers, including intimidation to discourage service as a poll watcher or election official or in response to such service; interference by members of the Armed Forces with election officials' exercise of their duties; and intimidation for helping voters register or cast a vote. Many states have laws that address other threats to election workers, such as through privacy protections for election commissioners. More general laws, such as prohibitions against voter intimidation or harassing or threatening interstate communications, might also apply to some conduct.
Many state and local officials have responded to the recent reports of threats to election workers with administrative action or legislative proposals. For example, some election officials have included local law enforcement in poll worker trainings or implemented new security measures in their offices. Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have enacted or updated legislation addressing protections for election workers since 2020, as of July 2025, such as a New Hampshire law that prohibits intimidating election officials to interfere with their work and an Oregon law that extended existing privacy protections to election workers. Some Members might choose to defer to state and local officials on any further responses to this issue, while others might see a role for the federal government.
Following the 2020 elections, the executive branch of the federal government took some new actions on election worker safety and privacy. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a task force in July 2021 to address threats to election workers; and DOJ, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) authorized or required grantees to use certain grant funds to help protect elections or election workers. The EAC also expanded its election security offerings, including with resources on election official security and mental health; and DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) provided services to help election officials address physical and online threats, Election Security Advisors (ESAs) to help them navigate its services, and funding for an Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC) that has helped identify and address safety concerns.
The current status of some of that new executive branch activity is uncertain. The website for DOJ's task force has been archived, with the last noted update as of this writing dating to May 2025. The EAC is without commissioners following their resignations and removals in April and July 2026, although the agency has indicated that it believes work like administering grants and providing resources can proceed in the absence of commissioners.
DHS proposed eliminating funding for CISA's election security program in the FY2026 congressional budget justification it released in June 2025 and the FY2027 budget justification it released in April 2026, proposing cutting the $39.61 million it reported previously allocating for the program. CISA discontinued funding for the EI-ISAC in 2025 and reportedly placed the ESAs on administrative leave. It did not stand up an Election Day situation room for the 2025 elections as it had in recent election cycles, and some state and local officials have reported limited access in recent months to services the agency previously provided.
CISA released an updated election infrastructure security plan for 2026 on September 24. The plan indicates that the agency's Regional Directors are currently serving as ESAs for their regions and that CISA is making an information-sharing platform available to fusion centers and state and local election officials for the 2026 election cycle. It also lists services the agency offers election officials and its efforts to provide them with security clearances and briefings on election threats.
Congress designated $39.61 million of the funding it appropriated for CISA in P.L. 119-86 for the agency's election security work, including ESAs and the EI-ISAC. Legislation introduced in the 119th Congress would also provide for federal funding for the EI-ISAC, and some Members have written to DHS and DOJ to encourage them to continue or clarify the status of activities related to election worker safety and privacy.
Some Members have also introduced measures in the 119th Congress to address other issues related to election worker safety and privacy, including proposals to
As of this writing, none of the above measures had advanced beyond committee referral.